The Princess and The Pauper
by Tibby Rose
Summary: Princess Blair Waldorf is set to marry Prince Charles Bass, but things change when she meets the stable boy Daniel Humphrey. AU, Historical D/B.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm not entirely sure what this is either, but we'll see how it turns out. Also, I'm not a history nut or anything, so any incorrect things will be my fault. Perhaps it's an AU thing entirely. All mistakes are mine, as I have no BETA.**

Many years ago, a princess was born in line to the royal throne. She was a pretty thing, with thick chocolate curls and doe brown eyes-and nothing short of a miracle. It had been believed for many years that a heir to the throne would not be produced, and that when Harold and Eleanor Waldorf passed on, there would be no one left in the royal family, as neither Harold nor Eleanor had siblings.

However, after years of attempting, Eleanor was with child, much to the delight of the king, a kindly man who adored his kingdom, as did the queen-although she was rather less likely to show it, preferring to have a cold demeanor. It was also a delight to all in the kingdom, as they had grown to love the Waldorf family as their rulers, although many loved the king more than the queen-although if it was ever said aloud, the consequences were sure to be rough.

At the beginning of fall, just as the leaves were changing into warmer colours, Queen Eleanor went in to labour, and King Harold prayed for the safe arrival of his daughter, whether male or female, and for Eleanor's health-as long as his family was safe, King Harold was content.

After many hours of waiting outside the King and Queen's quarters-Harold had been instructed to wait outside, and he had done so, spending many hours pacing around outside, everything forgotten except the safe arrival of his child and Eleanor to survive giving birth-a midwife came to see him, and with a curtsey and a 'your Highness' she announced the arrival of a baby girl Waldorf, a girl who Eleanor had already declared as 'Blair.'

He entered the room and held out his arms-Eleanor, perhaps deciding to keep the child from her father would be cruel, or she was just too tired to argue, handed the small bundle to him.

"Blair" Eleanor said, as midwives rushed around her "Blair Cornelia Waldorf."

"Named after both your grandmothers" King Harold had whispered to his daughter, who was crying in his arms "Bless you."

...

Blair Cornelia Waldorf grew up to be everything a princess should be-beautiful, wise and elegant. She learned to read and write at an early age, had no need to be taught how to dance (although she still attended lessons)-she was a fast learner, and it seemed that she was born with all the skills that came with being a future queen.

Although she had a kind heart, Blair took after her mother in almost every way, and many in the kingdom were terrified of the small girl-not just because of her power either, but because even at a young age, she could be rather frightening. This did not mean, however, she was a cruel princess. She was rather bossy and spoilt, but like her father, she had a good heart, it was just hidden by the tough facade her mother had encouraged her to put up, and although the princess preferred the company of her father, she did what her mother instructed, knowing that it would help her become the Queen she was born to be-Eleanor was nothing if not perfect royalty, and one day, Blair hoped to follow in her footsteps, which at times, upset King Harold, who loved his daughter.

It was simply because despite Eleanor being a wonderful Queen, she wasn't much of a family woman, giving Blair instructions only when her daughter did something incorrectly as the girl grew up, and whispering comments about the others in the kingdom. Due to her mother's teaching, Blair began to try and fit what she thought was required of her, and although it was unintentional to hurt Harold on Eleanor's behalf, she did so, and as the years grew on, their marriage become strained, much to the discomfort of Blair, who loved both her parents very much, even if she preferred her father. However, as Blair grew older, she began to distant herself from both, although she continued to hold her chin slightly higher and whisper cruel things about the others in the kingdom to the only girl Blair considered a friend-Lady Serena, a pretty and wealthy girl who was Blair's age, although she tended to be the kinder of the pair, which only upset Blair more. Although Eleanor was put off by their friendship at first-Blair relaxed more around Serena, and she seemed to forget she was a royal at times. However, at other times during their friendship, Blair would seem put off by Serena's beauty and people's preference of her over Blair, causing the princess to storm off on numerous occasions. It was upsetting at times, yes, but Harold noticed that Blair was happier around Serena, and managed to stop Eleanor from doing anything to ruin the friendship between the two girls. It reminded Harold of his little girl, before she became what her mother wanted her to be.

When Blair was around seven, it was decided that she would marry the Prince Charles Bass when her time came, son of the King Bart Bass, a few lands over. He was well known around many of the kingdoms, and there were whispers that Charles was a cruel man, which unnerved Harold. His daughter, though tough and well on her way to becoming like her mother, had a vulnerable side, one he was scared would be exposed to Prince Charles, with bad consequences. However, when he raised it with Eleanor, she had dismissed it, as she did with many of the points that Harold raised regarding their daughter.

"Nonsense" Eleanor had said "Prince Charles is a perfect match for Blair. They'll run a very powerful kingdom together."

And despite Harold's protests, that had been that.

Around this time, Blair was seventeen, and had yet to meet Charles once over the past decade, although she was due to wed him eventually. Harold had meet with King Bart a few times, although their children never accompanied them. Bart never denied the tales surrounding his sons, and whether that was because they were never bought up or because they were true, Harold was unaware. He had no idea what to think of the boy, and was glad, although wary, when it was decided it was time for Blair to meet her future husband.

On the day of Charles' arrival, Blair had worn a beautiful dress of red fabric, and many a seamstress had been fired due to what Eleanor called 'their lack of knowledge.' She had then continued to talk about the one who was due to make Blair's wedding dress, the same one who had made the dress on the day she was to met Charles.

Blair had simply nodded curtly and said "Yes, mother."

The arrival of the Bass royalty had sent the kingdom in to panic as they attempted to prepare for the arrival of Bart and Charles, although they headed off to the palace immediately, and Harold was unsure if he would ever be prepared.

When the carriage pulled up, Harold considered hugging his daughter, although that would seem ridiculous and unnecessary. Instead, he squeezed her shoulder, earning a glare from Eleanor and a small smile from Blair, before she straightened up and fixed her eyes on the carriage door.

Bart and Charles stepped out, and Charles, a boy a year or two older then Blair had an unkind face. Small dark eyes, dark hair and a smirk, he hoped that looks could be deceiving as Charles took his daughters hand and kissed it "Princess."

Blair had forced a smile on her face and allowed him to do so-it rude seem rude to not abide the rules, although she already disliked Charles "Prince Charles."

They spent the day together, and every time Prince Charles spoke, Blair began to dislike him more and more-he was clearly a cruel man, and terrorized the animals and people in his kingdom alike. He seemed to be rather rude to the royalty he had already met, and despite comforting her, his remark of not doing the same to Blair herself made her feel sick. She was a good actor however, and with a forced smile and a quick reply, she simply sipped her tea-something she had been told to do the right way too.

Harold watched from afar, and frowned at his daughter's discomfort.

At dinner that night, not long after the Prince and the King had left, Harold considered raising the issue of Blair's dislike of the Prince, although decided against it, knowing that nothing could be done. Eleanor made several remarks on how lovely the two looked as a couple, how charmed the prince was, and how beautiful Blair was. Blair had simply nodded at everything, and Harold did nothing. Eleanor appeared to be saying these things for show, as her lip curled every time she did so.

Later that night, after Blair had gone to her chamber for the night, Harold raised the issue with Eleanor, pointing out how the tales had portrayed Charles, and how unhappy Blair seemed. Eleanor had sighed and shook her head, as if Harold was ridiculous for bringing up the obvious facts.

"There is nothing we can do, Harold" she had reminded him "Perhaps the tales are false, and Blair has to get to know Charles a bit more."

"We both know that both of those statements are wrong, Eleanor" Harold had replied, upset his wife was going to brush this under the carpet.

Eventually, their argument escalated, and Blair was awoken from her slumber by their yells. It had never happened before, and although she had considered informing her parents to let her rest, she decided against it, listening to their points. It appeared none of them were fond of Charles, but Blair, despite her and her father's wishes, would be forced to marry him, as there was no other way.

The next morning, Blair found her father seated at the dining table, his lack of sleep apparent. Blair had frowned, and picking up her skirts so they wouldn't get dirty brushing along the floor, she made her way to her father and hugged him.

"I am not in favour of marrying Charles, however, mother is right" Blair announced, frowning at the thought "I do have to marry him."

Blair, however, had not planned on fate intervening. Up until that day, her future had been planned out-marry Charles, become Queen, give birth to their next heir to the throne, and eventually, pass away. It was simply the way her life was supposed to go, with no distractions, no problems. Her future was out of her hands.

But that day, however, was the beginning of her new future, the one she could control, despite the outcomes. It was a normal day for the most part-the sun was out, she had lessons to attend while the servants did their work and her parents did their duties. But it was also the day that a new farm boy had been hired to work at the palace, a farm boy by the name of Daniel Humphrey.


	2. Chapter 1: First Meetings

**a/n: Thank you for all the lovely reviews. All mistakes are mine, but I'm still searching for a BETA, so if you're interested, message me! I'm not particularly happy with this chapter, but still, feedback would be lovely, so please review!**

For the entirety of the day, Blair could not focus. It was unusual for her, as Blair was usually an avid learner in all her lessons, even the ones she did not see fit. But much to the dismay of her teachers, Blair was restless today, and Harold could only pinpoint it on one problem.

"Blair" he began slowly, briefly stopping his daughter as she made her way to the final lesson of the day "I understand that you've grown tired of hearing this by now, but there is really nothing we can do to prevent you from marrying Charles."

Blair stiffened slightly and nodded, fully aware of the situation. Despite accepting that she had no other alternative, Blair was still hoping that perhaps something would befall the Bass family, henceforth preventing the marriage, as there was nothing else that could be done. She was aware that it was not very kind to think of such things, but Blair was rather against having to marry a man she did not love, a man she knew she would never love. It was still good to know her father understood her, even though Blair's future was no longer in their hands.

"It's alright, father" Blair replied, as she and Harold walked down one of the many halls in the palace. Eleanor, of course, was nowhere in sight, and Blair was glad that her mother was not around to intrude on Blair's conversation with her father. Blair loved her mother, but she very much wondered if her mother cared for her.

"I'm positive all the saying around Charles are false" Harold continued, although neither Blair nor Harold himself believed it. From the brief meeting they had had recently, it was clear that Charles was a very dark boy. Blair simply nodded in reply, knowing that if she dared open her mouth something cruel would slip out. It was a practice her mother had taught her after a particularly disastrous incident involving another lady. Luckily, the Waldorf family had been spared any embarrassment, but since, Eleanor had made sure Blair kept her cold thoughts to herself. Sadly, Blair realized, she would be using the method a lot in the coming years with Charles.

"Right" Harold nodded, noticing Blair had no desire to pursue this conversation any further, much to his dismay, as he had wanted to help Blair the best he could. However, when his daughter refuse to pursue anything, that was that. The only time that it appeared her usual attitude would not work was in her coming marriage.

"Your mother asked me to inform you that Duchess Lillian is coming tomorrow, and Lady Serena will accompany her. I understand that you two get on quite well, so perhaps you'd like to discuss the situation with her."

Blair frowned, pausing at the door to her class "I'm afraid that the chances of Lady Serena understanding are very slim, however, I will enjoy her company." She turned to enter her classroom, when a loud noise was heard outside, causing the princess to stiffen.

"I am sure it is nothing, princess" Harold remarked gently, but headed briskly towards the doors nonetheless, Blair at his heels, refusing to miss out on whatever was about to take place. That was one of the many things about Blair Waldorf-she liked knowing things. Even if somebody left out the slightest detail it annoyed her, simply because Blair enjoyed knowing everything about everyone. And honestly, after a while, those little tidbits of information became useful, and whatever was going on outside was worth seeing.

Arriving behind her father, Blair expected to see something other than a horse acting wildly. It wasn't the most thrilling thing that could've taken place, and there was certainly no need for all the commotion, regardless of whether or not it was caused by the animals. Blair was about to make such a remark and head back inside when something caught her eye, something other than the horses in front of her. It was one of the stable boys attempting to calm the mare down, although Blair could never recall seeing him before. It wasn't as if she made it a task to remember the name of each and every servant, but for the most part, she remembered their faces, and this boy was certainly new. Squinting, Blair scrutinized him. He was young, only around Blair's age but the looks of it, with thick black hair and a square jaw. He didn't appear to be much different from all the others around him, but Blair was still interested. Her mother would've rolled her eyes at such a thought, and even Blair herself was slightly disgusted. Then again, Charles Bass didn't seem to be any better than him.

Blair's thoughts had distracted her, and she barely managed to register the mare headed towards her and her father's voice warning her to get back inside, before it was a millisecond away from being too late. However, the horse was pulled away at the last second, and Blair gasped, looking up to see it was the new stable boy.

"Blair!" Harold gasped, causing Blair to turn away and face her father, her heart beating fast and her breath catching "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine" Blair replied shakily, her thoughts still on the boy. Of course, it was expected that anybody would do the best they could to protect the princess, but in Blair's opinion, in was still somewhat of a heroic act. Her father pulled her close and Blair swallowed, still shaky as she took ragged breaths.

"Daniel" said the croaky voice of the stable master, and Blair's eyes flicked to where he was standing with the boy. _Daniel_. Perhaps not the nicest name, but then again, Blair did not really consider any better for the name of a stable boy.

"You saved the princess' life" the stable master continued, causing Harold to take a few steps forwards towards the pair. Blair, after a moment's hesitation, followed, refusing to look the boy in the eye, for reasons unknown even to her.

"Thank you" Harold said, turning towards Daniel "You saved my daughter's life. If there is anything I can do to repay you..."

"I'm sure it's what any good gentlemen would've done" Daniel replied, his eyes drifting to Blair's for a fleeting moment, causing the princess to straighten her shoulders. She was unsure of what the boy was thinking, but she was not going to let some stable boy get the better of her, regardless of whether or not he saved her life. "Anything to protect the princess."

"Yes, well" Harold continued, placing his hand on Blair's shoulder "If there is anything you need, I will be sure to help you out, as you have helped me." He nodded once, before steering Blair back inside.

"I'm not quite sure what you were thinking, Blair" Harold said sternly "What possessed you to come out and see what was going on?"

"I was intrigued" Blair replied stiffly, mind still reeling with thoughts from the encounter-both with the horse as well as the stable boy Daniel. "I'm alive and well, father, and I believe that is the main thing."

Harold chuckled "Of course. Heavens, if it hadn't been for that boy..."

Yes, Blair thought, if it hadn't been for that boy.

...

The next day, Lady Serena arrived, eager to hear the news on Blair's meeting with the prince. After a brief conversation with their mothers, Serena suggested a walk, and Blair, eager to confide in Serena her sorrows about being engaged to Charles, accepted, under the condition that they would stay in the gardens, and not go near the stables.

"I don't understand why the stables are a problem" mused Serena, the pale yellow of her dress lightly dusting the grass bellow them. Blair paused, unsure of whether or not to inform Lady Serena of her trouble the previous day. Deciding to do so later, if at all, Blair merely raised an eyebrow at Serena's comment.

"I don't see why it matters" she replied, glancing around "I much rather prefer the gardens. Prettier, and the gardeners tend to stay out of your way."

Serena smiled, a smile that Blair had become all too familiar with. It was the smile Serena reserved strictly for her, when Blair made a comment that made her feel oddly like her mother. Blair hated that look, mainly because she simply detested the thought of ending up like Eleanor. At least Blair was determined to see her children, as often as she could. Even in her rare free moments, Eleanor stayed well out of Blair's way, much to the dismay of the younger brunette.

"Did you have a good time at your meeting with Charles?" Serena questioned, turning to Blair and smiling. Serena was the only person Blair felt she could truly talk to, whether it was because Serena was constantly warm, even in Blair's worst moments, or because she knew Serena would never tell, Blair was unsure. All she was certain of was that she liked the company of the blonde, much more than she did the company of a few other girls she knew, at least.

"It wasn't very pleasant" Blair admitted, glancing around to make sure the gardeners were doing the work instead of eavesdropping. Whilst it was quite common knowledge around the palace that Blair did not fancy the company of the prince, she was not eager to have people whispering about her life more than normal. "He's very dark" Blair continued, frowning slightly "Nor does he seem very caring. However, it is not my choice, and perhaps I'll grow fond of him."

Serena frowned, obviously weary of Blair's attitude towards the marriage. "Have you talked to your father about it?" Serena questioned, tucking a stray piece of blonde hair behind her ear "Perhaps he could arrange something different with Bart?"

Blair laughed lightly at that, shaking her head at Serena's unthinkable remark. "It is out of his control, Serena, and of that you are well aware. I have as much choice in my marriage to Prince Charles as you do to Lord Nathaniel, even though you have stated that you would much rather prefer Lord Carter. But you should know that these are not are decisions, Serena."

Blair finished, feeling a slight twinge of guilt. She was not intending to hurt Serena, nor was she intending the offend the blonde. It was more that Blair had grown tired of the endless questions asking if she could do anything about Charles, even though everybody was aware of the story by now.

"Of course" Serena muttered, a slight iciness to her voice that was not there before, causing Blair to feel even worse, which was the last thing she needed at the moment. Lady Serena was not aware of that factor, but at the same time, Blair was still upset.

They had nearly returned to the palace when Serena suddenly stopped, much to the annoyance of Blair. Frowning, Blair moved her head in an attempt to see what had intrigued her friend, only to discover it was merely the stable boys doing their job. Rolling her eyes, Blair wondered why Serena had such a fascination with the help, among anything that was not tied in with their world.

"Oh, there's no need to worry" Serena announced, reading Blair's facial expressions and smiling. "It's just, I've never seen him before. He is new?" Serena nodded in the direction of one of the boys, and it did not take Blair long to recognize him as Daniel, causing her stomach to tighten. Why would Serena being interested in him? Besides, it wasn't as if he even worked at the van der Woodsen estate-it was the Waldorf one, and Serena really had no business eyeing him like that.

Blair coughed shortly, and the other girl laughed, a laugh that Blair occasionally despised. She had no idea what Serena had done to irritate her to this point, but Blair could barely stand there a second longer with the blonde.

"Fine, I'll forget about him" Serena said with a slight smile, taking Blair's arm as they headed back up to the palace. "I must say though, he does look quite nice for a stable boy."

Blair was unsure what her expression was, whether it was merely one of fear, or disgust, or even jealousy, although the last one was the very slimmest option. Serena seemed to find it hilarious either way.

...

That night, as Blair prepared herself for bed, she wondered what on earth possessed her to get upset with Serena like that. The blonde got on her nerves, yes, but even Blair could tell she was overreacting. Why did it matter what Serena thought of some stable boy, who, much to Blair's annoyance, did not seem to notice her when she was down with Serena earlier. Serena always had questionable taste in nearly everything, and Blair had long since learned to brush most of her comments off as ridiculous theories, or something even worse. So there really was no need for her to be so upset about it, Blair reminded herself as she slid in to bed, determined to forget the events of the past two days tomorrow.

But regardless of all that thinking, she had yet to come up with an answer to her question. Why did she care so much?


End file.
